Epilepsy - Topic Overview

If medicine alone does not control your seizures, your doctor may try one or more of these other treatments. They include:

• Surgery to remove damaged tissue in the brain or the area of brain tissue where seizures begin.
• A special diet called the ketogenic diet. With this diet, you eat a lot more fat and less carbohydrate. This diet reduces seizures in some children who have epilepsy.
• A device called a vagus nerve stimulator. Your doctor implants the device under your skin near your collarbone. It sends weak signals to the vagus nerve in your neck and to your brain to help control seizures.

How will epilepsy affect your life?

Epilepsy affects each person differently. Some people have only a few seizures. Other people get them more often. Usually seizures are harmless. But depending on where you are and what you are doing when you have a seizure, you could get hurt. Talk to your doctor about whether it is safe for you to drive or swim.

If you know what triggers a seizure, you may be able to avoid having one. Getting regular sleep and avoiding stress may help. If treatment controls your seizures, you have a good chance of living and working like everyone else.

But seizures can happen even when you do everything you are supposed to do. If you continue to have seizures, help is available. Ask your doctor about what services are in your area.

For parents, it is normal to worry about what will happen to your child if he or she has a seizure. But it is also important to help your child live, play, and learn like other children. Talk to your child’s teachers and caregivers. Teach them what to do if your child has a seizure.

There are many ways to lower your child’s risk of injury and still let him or her live as normally as possible. For example, learn about water safety for children who have seizures.

Frequently Asked Questions